


Another year over

by Gadhar, wanderingsmith



Category: The Expendables (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 14:24:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5589505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gadhar/pseuds/Gadhar, https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderingsmith/pseuds/wanderingsmith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Barney's...Barney's a different breed kid.  You gotta be clear.  And I mean, detailed, obvious, slap him in the face clear-"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another year over

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I ain't got no money, and nobody'd be daft enough to pay me for this. As it is thought, so let it be said; you make the toys, I play with 'em.
> 
> so this started out as another (actually, it was 3 separate ones) back and forth message sequence, but then there was a dropped 'I'd love to read that' about one of them, and I thought, 'hey, christmas present!'

Lee looked up from the old AK inner tube he was oiling up when Barney walked into the hangar. Or stalked, more to the point, muttering under his breath as he sorted what looked like the mail. Too early for Christmas bills, even if he could imagine Barney having them.

Waiting until the man was close enough for Lee to have a chance to see what he was actually glaring at, he raised his brows, "The hell's got your knickers in a twist, Barney?"

The glare Barney transferred up to him was equal parts insulted and annoyed, and only made Lee more curious at the papers Barney waved in uncharacteristically Italian vehemence, low grumble rising to his rumbling snarl, "Bad enough they even *write* this shit, why the *fuck* they pick *my* fucking address to unload it?!"

When the plastic booklet went by him again, Lee managed to snatch it out of the air, reading the drug-company advert headline out loud in disbelief, "Don't be left behind by 'sexually active' seniors??" Stymied between sympathy and laughing his ass off at Barney's utterly offended expression, Lee cough-choked and shook as he fumbled the metal rod he held safely onto the table with the rest of the gun's parts.

"Christ, and implying that seniors are supposed to *have* relationships to not disappointed in the first place?? Hell, even the ones that *used* to have relationships, that's like a kick in the teeth for every one that's lost their spouse, for fuck's sake!"

Lee nodded, grin still twitching at the corner of his lips, though the half-hidden edge of loneliness in that rant killed most of his humour, "Easy, Barney. Not like you're a senior, anyway; they either got the wrong address or they send to everyone. Either way, no reason to get worked up."

Expecting a grunt and more snarls, Lee instead watched as Barney stilled and focused on him with a queer look of uncomfortable surprise and confusion. "..I can't believe I'm fucking saying this.. But what d'you mean I'm not a senior?" and Lee could clearly see the rare whining reluctance on the man's face as he said it, too.

Which didn't make it any less confusing. "I mean.. hell, Barney," Lee wriggled his fingers in the quote sign, " 'Senior'. 65 and over?" he hesitated, frowning in suspicion as Barney's stare slowly melted into a shit-eating grin, "I mean, 60 would probably count, too, but that's still-"

"Lee." 

He should be glaring at the excess of almost preening good cheer suddenly being beamed at him, he really should. But Lee was damned if he could remember how long it'd been since the last time Barney had smiled that widely. Too damn long, anyway. He was a big enough man to take some razzing if this was the prize, so he chuckled as he shook his head, sending Barney a smile of his own, waiting for the punchline, "Yeah?"

"You've never noticed the birthday on my passports?"

"Can't say I ever did, no," and he wasn't going to say a damn word about the fact that his eyes were usually snagged by the hard gaze Barney always had going from his ID pictures.

"67."

Lee's mouth dropped. Only for a couple beats, but he couldn't deny it did drop. Sixty-fucking-seven?? He couldn't help the glance he ran from the tip of gelled (fucking *thick*) black hair, down muscle-stretched t-shirt and tight jeans, to worn leather boots. Glance*s*. 

He was shaking his head in disbelief by the time he looked back up to meet eyes that were fucking gorgeous as they laughed at him with a queerly pleased pride, "I sure as *fuck* hope I'm not getting thrown around by bombs and beaten to a shit by sadistic bastards when *I*'m fucking 67! Jesus, Barney, you're even more of a moron than I thought.."

The insult had about the effect he expected, except he earned himself an actual out loud laugh to go with the amused grin. Beautiful early present.

\----

Why that particular discovery had been what pushed him to decide to finally *do* something about the 'thing' between them, Lee wasn't sure. 

Some half-assed fear that Barney was suddenly going to smarten up and retire from their crazy life, like any semi-intelligent person would, maybe, and so disappear from Lee's life. Which was crazy since Tool was still in their lives. 

Maybe some illogical notion that if the man hadn't made a move at his age, he never would: even though he'd looked.. a weird wistful kind of 'pleased' at Lee's, he knew damn well *un-hidden*, admiration of his damned distracting bod. 

Either way, it turned out that Lee making a decision to see if there really was any 'interest' there to be found apparently had zero effect on his stubborn, *old*, pal's ability to NOTICE! 

He'd 'taken' Barney out to the local excuse for a football team. They'd wrangled about what the sport was called and how physically demanding it was right up until Barney dropped him off, having insisted that driving his truck made more sense than their bikes. 

The less said about the movie, the better. Dragons *were* cool; bloody man! He *knew* he should have taken him to that boxing movie; even if it HAD looked like too much of a romance for Barney to sit through. 

The slight confusion starting to show on Barney's face when Lee invited him to supper at a *nice* restaurant would have been more encouraging, "If the *bloody* man hadn't gone and started to use this fucking *gentle*," Lee's mouth twisted with bitter sarcasm as he continued to rant, only slurring a bit, "Voice and started fucking saying I don't have to ask if I want some *company*!!"

The last word was a muffled, infuriated wail as Lee dropped his head in his hands, elbows on the counter top. 

A bit too close to his half-full glass of scotch for Tool's peace of mind, so he reached and shifted it aside as he coughed back the chuckles at the scenarios he'd just heard described.

His definitely slightly drunk friend was muttering again, voice blurred as much by his hands as alcohol, now, "I just love him so so fucking much," Tool was smiling when Lee raised his head and looked at him, hands clenching on nothing as he growled hopelessly, "And I want to fucking STRANGLE him, too!"

Tool was stuck between laughing at the lovesick mercenary, shaking his head in sympathy at someone else trying to deal with Barney being thick, and just sitting there smiling a sappy smile at Lee's finally being *willing* to. He'd spent too many years watching them both sublimate their feelings in work, and then dealing with the shit from that work; each alone.

" 'ow the 'ell do I get him to fucking *notice* I'm asking him on a *date*?? When he's not trying to 'help' me, he acts like it's a team night the team forgot to show for!!" Christmas' exasperation in the first few words had faded to a pitiful moan smeared on the counter by the end.

Definitely smiling, now, but managing to stop himself from laughing; the strong dose of sympathy that particular question engendered helped mellow Tool out. "Barney's...Barney's a different breed kid. You gotta be clear. And I mean, detailed, obvious, slap him in the face clear-" he stopped suddenly realizing what he'd just said. To a half-drunk brit. Tool winced, straightening and looking for better, *clearer*, words, "But not with...you know. I mean like metaphorically, man. Don't actually slap him with...body parts-"

Lee's initial befuddled look had faded to a thoughtful one that kinda scared Tool, but he couldn't think of any way to undo the damage, other than changing the hell out of the subject and hope the man forgot this when he sobered up. "I'm just saying make it very clear. Do dinner at your place or something, with candles and romantic shit, he's old school. Throw every bit of old school you have into it. Ask him out, but say something that makes it very obvious that it's a date-date."

A mulish look appeared on Lee's face, reassuring Tool that he'd at least partly succeeded, "Shouldn't 'Wanna go on a date with me?' be clear enough??"

"Yeah. But this is Barney; so, no."

\----

"Well. Not exactly 'old school'," Lee glared into the mirror, "But if the stubborn bastard misinterprets *this*, I'm getting his IQ tested."

With one last tweak at the belt, he carefully stalked to the main room. All curtains closed, check. Lights: dim. Candles: flickering away. Finger food that'll keep until they fucking got this evening to the feeding each other stage, one way or another, check. Fucking *good* scotch instead of champagne: on coffee table with optional glasses. Even if his yank of a friend wouldn't appreciate the quality. Condoms and lube: one set on same table and another on bedside table. Christmas music: low and Italian. 

Lee took a steadying breath and leaned back against the wall near the door, one booted foot flat against the wall; as much to keep the belt in place as anything. Now all that was missing-

Doorbell.

Lee rolled his eyes and reached for the cell he'd left on the entry table, speed-dialling blind even with the white furry shit halfway down his hand. He heard the ring through the apartment's cheap door and shook his head when Barney actually picked up. "Unless you brought company, I fucking *told* you to just come in." Hitting 'End', Lee grumbled under his breath as he dropped the thing, "They really need to come up with a way that you can go back to slamming a phone off." 

He was staring at the door as the handle turned, consciously shrugging his shoulders back as he laid his hands on the damn belt in case it acted up; and ready to catch the expression on Barney's face the second he- YES!

Grinning with impure glee as the door swung shut behind his prey, Lee slow-stalked the four steps separating them as Barney's wide, and now unquestionably (FINALLY!) *hungry*, eyes stroked down his bared chest, *hesitated* (double YES!!) at the wide belt tilting down from his right hip to his left thigh to bridge the indecent gap to the red felt pants hanging just a little too low (only hanging at all because he'd tied them to the belt on the one side! Idiot design).

By the time that look burned on down to the shiny black leather boots sticking out of the fluffy white trim, Lee was close enough to hear Barney's fast breathing and see his chest rising and falling with it. He stood still, watching the dusting of rain on Barney's hair shine as his head came back up (I saw that hesitation, you dirty old man!) Lee's abs, catching on the pompom tickling too close to his right nipple to follow it up to his shoulders, entirely bared of the coat that had been suffocatingly hot before he pulled it to hang from just his arms. And then that gaze finally locked with Lee's eyes under the red hat's low-slung brim and less than a foot away.

He'd had a few lines ready if Barney'd managed to hide his reaction enough for Lee to doubt it; but he didn't doubt *this*. The light wasn't so dim that he couldn't see those eyes were blown, didn't see that tongue coming out to lick at parted lips. 

He didn't bother with words. Just slid his fingers into that rain-damp hair and dove in to retrace that saliva-slick path himself before sucking on the lip as he pushed Barney back against that door, shivering when Barney's chilled, wet leather jacket touched his naked chest. Outright shuddering when he felt cold hands slide over his ribs and under his bloody Santa coat. He grinned in the middle of the kiss. Those hands were pulling him *closer*!

They were both breathing hard when he finally pulled out of the mutual tongue fuck they'd ended up locked in. He sure as fuck wasn't cold anymore, and the soft but wide belt was the only thing keeping his cock from saluting out in the open, having escaped out the top of the pants. He'd felt the hat take a dive when one of Barney's hands had come up to grip the back of his skull, and the other hand was clamped on his ass and grinding him into the hard ridge in Barney's chinos.

He fought that hand on his skull to slide his lips to Barney's ear, taking a bite at the lobe as Barney's breath flowed hot and heavy on his cheek, before growling low, "You been a good little boy?" He added an extra rub to the grind Barney had going, making his reward for good mercenaries plain.

When teeth closed on the edge of his jaw, it was Lee's turn to gasp, fingers tightening jerkily as that familiar deep voice vibrated against his skin, "Hell no, I'm never good," his eyes dropped shut to try to grasp at control when the hand at his back slowly slid into the pants, a finger ghosting along his crack, "And I ain't little."

Fuck. Holy fuck. Something about sleeping giants came to mind. And 'Fucking finally', too. Or was that 'Finally fucking'?

Either way, he took a shaky step back, making Barney step with him since it looked liked that familiar stubbornness wasn't willing to let Lee go, now; though the movement gave Lee enough room to slide a hand down and see how much of a boast that was.

They both stumbled when Barney's hips jerked into his grip.

Not stopping his backward walk toward the couch, Lee grinned into the dark promise of mayhem Barney was sending him, " *Very* nice. You better not be faster than light, either. I want this fucking *date*, old man, lasting until somebody sings Auld Lang Syne in our timezone."

Barney cracking up was definitely something he was a sucker for. *Even* when it resulted in their clinch loosening up.

So was letting himself drop back on the couch and then staring up at wavering shadows of candlelight playing on Barney's face when he un-hesitatingly followed Lee down. Had never really had a problem with being held under Barney's meaty grips, and he sure as fuck didn't have one with having him press him down with that damn sixty-seven year old body of his to make Lee's eyes cross with pleasure.

"Don't you worry, Christmas, if slow's what you want, slow's what you'll get," Lee couldn't help opening his eyes to send a challenging smirk at that low threat breathed inches from his lips, tightening his hands in Barney's grips as an empty threat of resistance. Barney returned a bright grin, leaning all the way in to press their foreheads together to add more quietly, "I got all the time in the world, for you."

**Author's Note:**

> LOL! had to laugh when I went researching and found Grudge match came out dec 25, 2013, which is the year was picturing this (between E2 and E3).
> 
> Lee's outfit, for those who prefer a visual, <http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/wanderingsmith/8437005/66864/66864_original.jpg> (no idea of the source. seen it in a variety of places)
> 
> Happy New Year, fellow Expendables fans


End file.
